The mix martial arts community has been ancy when it comes to the next time we will see Dagestan's own the #6 ranked Featherweight in the division Zabit "Zabeast" Magomedovsharipov. It was rumored for quite that some time that Zabit would be facing former title challenger #2 ranked Brian "T-city" Ortega in a bout that not only makes sense but would be a complete clash of styles but it looks like it never materialized.
With the upcoming card in Abu Dabi on September 7th, it would only make sense to have Zabit Magomedsharipov on that card with his fellow Dagestanians Islam Makhachev and defending UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Zabit is easily one of the biggest prospects to enter the UFC in recent years, and he has done nothing but impresses everybody who watches including Dana White.
The Shaolin of Dagestan continues to proclaim that he is the hardest training fighter in the featherweight division also in the rest of the organization. His talents continue to show why that statement is true as Zabit has been training in this sport since he was a child. Zabit has 17 wins in his mix martial arts career with only 1 loss which was by armbar early in his career. Zabit has turned into a serious submission specialist along with his crafty stand-up game as he is constantly utilizing his kicks.along with throws that we have not yet seen in the UFC prior to his arrival.
He also continues to pull off impressive submissions that have been very rememberable — Zabit Magomedovsharipov who towers over most fighters in the UFC's Featherweight division being at 6'1. Zabit even has the height advantage over the current UFC Featherweight champion Max "Blessed" Holloway who is 5'11 and is bigger than most of his opponents. Zabit has called out numerous names, and he feels he could just slaughter the competition. The former ACB Featherweight Champion Zabit Magomedsharipov has his eyes set on top contenders in the division when you consider his #6 ranked spot in the featherweight division of the UFC.
Zabit is a win or 2 away from challenging for the title, but some people feel in the community that he needs to face some serious contenders in the division before that happens. In his most recent appearance in the octagon which felt like forever ago on March 2nd at UFC 235 when he faced the very dangerous and hard hitting #7 ranked Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stephens in a fight were Zabit really showcased his striking skills with a top contender and a striker like Jeremy Stephens. Zabit Magomedsharipov would go on to win the fight by unanimous decision as he defeated Jeremy Stephens.
After that victory that launched Zabit closer to breaking into the top 5 rankings in the UFC's featherweight division, he could easily be matched up with anyone in the top 5 with the guarantee that Zabit will put on a phenomenal performance. It is just kind of unclear who his next opponent will be as the only 3 fighters in the top 5 who do not have opponents at the moment are former featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Brian "T-City" Ortega, and the #1 ranked featherweight Alex Volkanovski.